Foldable bed



July 26, 1938. T; B, B'A DA 2,124,602

' v FOLDABLE BED Filed Nov. 22, 1934 g y 'A F /6 eodoro Bcsas ardnif 3linentor (Ittomeg Patented July 26, 1938 I 2 124 50 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOLDABLE BED 1 Teodoro v Basas' Bardaji, Barcelona, Spain, assignor to Jose Maria Bragulat, New York, N. Y.

Application November 22, 1934, Serial No. 754,237

In Spain December 7, 1933 7 Claims. (Cl. -69) This inventionrelates to foldable beds, andhas The device, in the embodiment of the invenfor its object to provide an improved device which tion shown in the drawing, comprises a system is applicable to foldable beds in which the part of springs l2 which can be joined together in corresponding to the head of the bed and, in pairs, threes or more, as required, and these 5. some cases, also the foot part can be raised. By springs are fastened at both ends to the frame 5 means of this device the result is obtained that of the spring 3 and, at their center to a connectthe movement of raising the head of the bed and ing rod 4. The connecting rod is floating in the the foot part can be efiected 'with the minimum sense that its lower end is not mechanically fixed of effort and with great simplicity, and also that in any predetermined position but depends for the person lying in the hinged bed is able to regits position entirely upon the tension springs by 10 ulate it to the desired inclination without the which it is supported. help of another person. This connecting rod 4 is hinged at 5 to the Foldable beds as described above are already frame of the movable part of the head 6 of the known per se, and are employed mainly by inbed to which it transmits a thrust which it revalids and convalescents for whom a more comceives from the springs l and 2. Preferably the 15' fortable rest is desirable. These beds,in the nor connecting rod is not pivoted directly to the head mal position, have the appearance of an ordinary portion. 6 of the spring frame, but is pivotally or plain bed, but, if the invalid has to be raised secured to a short arm 5' which may desirably on it, the metallic bed bottom or spring or box have a length approximately equal to'the spacing mattress is hinged up for the head part and for between the arm 5' and the fulcrum pin 1 upon 20 the foot part as required until the desired posiwhich the head frame portion 6 is angularly tion is obtained. adjustable. By virtue of the tension of these Nevertheless, all 'the hitherto known systems springs, the connecting rod 4 tends to maintain ofbeds of this class have the important disaditself in the raised position (see Fig. 3) and thus,

vantage of requiring for their movement a great in turn, effects the raising of the head 6 of the 25 effort or else a mechanism whichiscomplic-ated, bed spring. The advantage of employing the expensive and slow in operationand cannot be short arm 5' to locate the pivot 5 below the level worked by the person lying in the bed. The arof frame 6 is to maintain a suflicient leverage rangements usually adopted comprise racks, on the frame in the lifting movement thereof.

worms or toothed sectors, and their mechanisms Obviously, if the fulcrum 5 were located directly 30' are actuated by means of handles or pulleys. on the side of the movable frame section 6, the

The device forming the subject matter of-this leverage of the connectingrod on such frame invention enables a portion of the bed spring to section would rapidlyde'crease as theframe secbe folded or moved on a pivot as already stated, tion became elevated. By the arrangement diswithout any effort and rapidly and without the closed, a substantially constant leverage is main- 35 aid of another person. Moreover, it is of great tained sufiicient in view of the decreasing load simplicity and therefore economical. of the occupants body on this frame section, to

In order that the invention may be clearly unmaintain the frame section upright notwithderstood reference will now be made to the acstanding the decreased tension of the counter- V 40 companying drawing which illustrates a practical balancing springs resulting from their contrac- 40 embodiment of the invention solely by way of tion. example. As the tension given to the spring l-2 (which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the device applied can be regulated by means of spreaders 8) to a hinged bed, the bed being shown in the is calculated so as to counteract the weight of normal or extended position. the person lying in the bed, any movement of 45 Fig. 2 is a view in elevation of the parts shown the latter would cause a rocking of the head of V in Figure 1 as they appear from the opposite side. the bed and; on the other hand, when the bed is Fig. 3 illustrates the same device, in an-eicternal unoccupied, the latter would always remain with side-view similar to Fig. 1,but with the headporthe head portion raised. In order to avoid this tion and the foot portion of the bed spring raised. disadvantage and to be able to leavethe spring 50 Fig. 4 shows diagrammatically the combinaframe fixed in the desired position, there has tionof a bed with a device installed thereon in been provided a sector 9 joined at one part tothe condition shown in Fig. 1. the head of the bed and passing through a guide Fig. 5 illustrates a bed with the device in the III within which it can be immovably secured by I condition shown in Fig. 3. means of a screw ll. 55"

If desired, the foot part l2, l2 can also be pivotally arranged, so as to be capable of being folded in conjunction with the head'of the bed (by means of a connecting rod device I3) or independently of the latter. The connecting rod I3 is preferably pivoted to the head section 6 of the spring frame at the end of a short lever arm l5 which projects from the pivoted end of the head frame 6. The connection of the link or rod l3 with the foot frame element I2 is effected through a short lever arm l6 which projects from the pivoted end of the foot section [2 in a direc-' tion opposite to that in which arm l5 projects. Thus, in this preferred arrangement of the parts, the upward movement of the head frame member 6 is accompanied by an opposite upswinging movement of the foot member l2 which rests beneath the upper legs and knees of the occupant and which draws up with it the pivoted foot section I2 beneath the lower legs of the occupant. In the former. case, as is shown in the example of embodiment represented in the drawing, the actual device for counterbalancing the head part of the spring frame will serve for balancing or counteracting the weight of the foot part, and in the case in which the folding of the latter part is effected independently of that of the head part, there can be separately arranged a similar counterbalancing device which acts solely for the foot part. 7

From what has been set forth above, the operation of the described device can be clearly deduced; this consists in counteracting the weight of the hinged part of the bed bottom and that of the person whom it supports by means of a system'of springswhich exert a tension in a suitable direction tending to maintain the hinged part of the bed bottom in the raised position.

The disclosed arrangement whereby the head portion 6 of the bed spring frame and the lower portions I2 and I2 thereof are interconnected for simultaneous upward movement under the pressure of the counterbalancing spring system is very desirable in facilitating the almost effortless self-adjustment' of the bed at the will of the occupant. Of course, the counterbalancing springs are so fixed that even the slightest lifting of the occupants body will permit the bed spring frame sections to be raised by the springs. If, however, the occupant be a, patient so weak as to be unable to lift his body alone, he can accomplish the elevation of the bed spring frame sections by simply drawing up his knees. natural movement of the occupants body conforms to the movement of parts l2 and I2 from the Figure ,4 position to the Figure 5 position thereof and the release of the pivotal joined foot parts l2 and I2 from the load of the patients knees is in itself sufiicient to' raise not only the foot sections l2 and I2 but the head section 6 of the bed spring frame Conversely, a slight I straightening of the occupants body sufficient to supplement the weight of the knees on the joint between the foot sections l2 and I2 is sufficient to restore the parts to their Figure 4 position. Thus the counterbalancing springs do not need to be accurately adjusted to the weight of the occupants body and, throughout a wide range of body weights, the bed'spring frame sections re-' spond so readily to the occupants wishes as to make the operation seem completely effortless.

The device is advantageously mounted on both sides of the frame of the bed for the sake of better efficiency, but it may also one only of its sides. I

This

be arranged on It should be noted that the counterbalancing device described may be subjected to accessory modifications, alterations and changes whichdo not affect its essence.

What I claim is:

1. A foldablebed, comprising the combination.

with a bed frame and a pair of bed spring sections having their adjacent end portions individually pivoted to the bed frame, of an arm ex tending downwardlyon one of said portions, an

arm extending upwardly on the other of said portions, a link connecting said arms for the elevation of one portion'upon the elevation of an intermediate portion of the bed frame, and

the third of which is pivotally connected to the foot end of the second, positively acting means connecting the first and second sections whereby 7 any upward or downward movement of either section produces a corresponding upward or downward movement of the other section, the third section likewise participating in said movement to swing upwardly and downwardly in correspondence with the upward and downward movement of said first and second sections, and a counterbalancing spring applied between said bed frame and at least one of said sections for supporting all three of said sections in their upward movement, said spring having sufficient tension to substantially balance the weight of the moving portions of said sections and the weight of the portions of an occupants body resting thereon, whereby an occupant of the bed spring can substantially effortlessly raise and lower his knee and trunk simultaneously inopposite directions of pivotal movement by shifting the direction of thrust of portions of his.

legs upon the second and third sections aforesaid.

3. A foldable bed comprisingthe combination with a main frame, of an adjustable sub-frame comprising a first section having its foot in fulcrumed connection with an intermediate part of the main frame, a second section having its head in fulcrumed connection with an intermediate part of the main frame and a third section pivotally connected to the foot end of the secondsection, arms respectively extending upwardly and downwardly on the first and second sections, a link connecting said arms whereby the upward movement of one of said sections will occasion the upward swinging movement of the other, and a counterbalancing spring of substantially suifie cient strength'to support the free end portions of said sections and the body of the occupant thereon in the course of the swinging movement aforesaid, said spring being operatively connected between said main frame and at least one ofthe said sections. I

4. A foldable bed comprising the combination.

with a main frame, of an adjustable sub-frame comprising a first section having its foot'in fulcrumed'connection with an intermediate part of the main frame, a secondsection having its head in fulcrumed connection with an intermediate part of the main frame and a third section pivotally connected to the foot end of the second section, arms respectively extending upwardly and downwardly on the first and second sections, a link connecting said arms whereby the upward movement of one of said sections will occasion the upward swinging movement of the other, a link and pivotal connection with one of said sections and depending below said main frame at its free end, and a counterbalancing spring system having its intermediate portion secured to the depending free end of said link and its ends connected with said main frame under tension for the support of the several sections and the weight of a persons body in the swinging angular adjustment of said sections.

5 A foldable bed comprising the combination with a bed frame, of three movable frame sections the first of which has an end portion adjacent the head of the bed free to swing in an upward direction and has its foot section provided with means supported on said bed frame and providing a relatively fixed fulcrum for pivoting it at a point intermediate the ends of the bed frame, the second of which has its head end provided with means pivoting it adjacent the point at which the foot end of the first section is pivoted, the foot end of the'second section being free toswing in an upward direction, and the third of which is pivotally connected at its head to the foot end of the second, its foot end being provided with means supported from the bed frame for the pivotal movement of said third section in response to the movement of the second, positively acting means connectingv the first and second sections whereby any upward or downward movement of either section produces a corresponding upward or downward movement of the other section, the third section likewise participating in said movement to swing upwardly and downwardly in correspondence with the upward and downward movement of said first and second sections, and a counterbalancing spring applied between the bed frame and at least one of said positively connected sections in a direction to support all three of said sections and to contribute to the support of the portions of the occupants body which rest upon the free end portions of the several sections, the several sections being movable from a position of substantial alignment to positions in which the swinging portions thereof are entirely above the first mentioned position, the tension of said counterbalancing spring being of such a value that the occupant can effect the movement of the several sections substantially without effort by shifting the relative direction of thrust of the several portions of his body upon the several sections.

6. An adjustable bed comprising the combination with a bed frame, of a bed spring including a head section, an intermediate section, and a foot section, means providing relatively fixed fulcrums for the adjacent end portions of the head section and the intermediate section upon the main frame, means providing a pivotal connection between the free end of the intermediate section and the adjacent end of the foot section, the free end of the foot section being movable along the main frame, positively acting means operatively connecting said head section and intermediate section to require opposite angular v ing means being sufficient to counterbalance substantially the weight of the moving parts of the frame and the portions of an occupants body carried thereby, whereby-an occupant can vary his position without material effort by straightening and bending his body to lower and raise the movable portions of said sections respectively.

7. A foldable bed comprising the combination with a bed frame, of a bed spring consisting of a head section, an intermediate section and a foot section, means mourited on the main frame providing for the independent support of adjacent ends of the head and intermediate sections for pivotal movement, positively acting mechanism operatively connecting said sections for the transmission of motion from one to the other in a direction to require said sections to pivot angularly in opposite directions upon the movement of either of said first and second sections, whereby to cause the simultaneous movement of the head and knee portions of an occupant in an upward direction or a downward direction, the adjacent ends of the intermediate section and foot section being provided with means establishing a pivotal connection therebetween, and spring actuating means acting upwardly on one of the sections connected by said mechanism in a direction to substantially counterbalance the swinging portions of said sections and the portions of the weight of an occupant supported thereon, whereby a change in the direction of thrust of portions of the operators legs on the intermediate and foot sections will effect substantially effortless raising and lowering of the several sections.

TEODORO BASAS BARDAJI'. 

